White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee took home the top prize in the 16th annual "D.C.'s Funniest Celebrity" contest on Wednesday evening, and he did so in a very unconventional way. Instead of adopting a traditional comedic routine of joke buildup and punchline, Goolsbee peppered an otherwise expected stump speech on the Obama administration's goals with subtle asides that constituted a humorous, sarcastic, self-deprecating and conspiratorial insight into the administration's most accessible punchlines. The targets? Hillary Clinton, Sen. Ben Nelson, Rod Blagojevich, Sarah Palin and Fox News.

As Goolsbee's routine unfolded, he adopted a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde persona; while elaborating on the administration's polished talking points, he'd drop his voice for vocal moments of internal monologue.

Among them:

"When we came to office, it was not that fun of a time to be here in the economy ... but we basically knew what to do (panic) ...." "Let's just start with the fundamentals (throw money at the problem)." "We kinda had to go back and look at the old text books (Karl Marx, Trotsky)..."

On some U.S. banks: "Ingrateful bastards" who "bankrupted your grandma."

On the Obama administration's top priority coming into office: Make sure "all the Clinton people got their jobs back."

On the president's trip to Copenhagen and the Illinois delegation: "I think they're bringing the governors (if the parole board says it's okay)..."

On Sen. Ben Nelson: "He is still a Democrat and I do think that if you see somebody as distinguished as Senator Nelson, maybe we can learn something from him (sneak attack) maybe it's a lesson (stab him in the back) and there are many leading figures he reminds me of (Benedict Arnold) ..."

"If you think about it, we all want our kids to be educated. ... If you have no skills and no education and you don't know anything, what future do you possible have (Fox News Correspondent)...

On 2012: "I think [Republicans] might do better looking outside of Washington to governors, there's a lot of governors. There's obviously Sarah Palin (wingnut) from Alaska who's a former governor (quitter) and you cannot rule out that by 2012 (there will be a warrant for her arrest) that she'll be the nominee. ... They might want to take somebody who was against Obama from the start, someone who's just had it out for him for some time (Hillary Clinton)..."

"It's been a wild run. I'm just a guy from Chicago (future Fed chair)..."

That Goolsbee turned in an edgy performance that isn't quite in keeping with a message-focused White House shouldn't strike anyone as a surprise. Goolsbee has become a media darling and a favorite guest on cable news thanks, in part, to his eccentric personality and untraditional approach to economic talking points.

"There is literally more information on the back of a box of Fruit Loops than what" the McCain campaign presented in its economic policies, Goolsbee said during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Readers' Comments (103)

What's so sensational about this guy? Just another inflated ego Chicago thug who's invaded DC and will profit from corruption, greed and waste of the obama "obamination". They're all so in love with themselves, it's sickening. Amateur Hour at the White House continues.

Loonly libs MUST poke fun at Sarah Palin because she is such a threat to their perceived way of life.. Yes loonly liberals there are strong women with executive experience who don’t kill their babies.. It took Carter to bring us Ronald Reagan and it’s going to take an Obambi to remind us how bad it can be under a loonly lefty liberal administration..

Sarah Palin’s soon-to-be-released book has topped the charts at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, only two days after its release date was announced. Palin’s publisher, Harper, announced on Monday that the memoir tilted “Going Rogue: An American Life”, which was scheduled to hit the markets in spring next year, would now be available from November 17 following its completion. A publishing industry insider told the Politico that they “cannot remember a non-fiction book taking off like this in the pre-order market. It became number one only a couple of hours after nothing more than a date announcement. It is truly unprecedented.” A source close to Palin said: “This book has taken off like a rocket.”

Yeah, yeah, Goolsby is funny and not just because of his last name. I get it. Mediocrity can be a hoot and so it is with the good professor. Cheap jokes about the opposition always make the friendlies laugh and the opposition cringe. I get it - Stephen Colbert with a PhD. Goolsby is smart and Sarah is dumb. Goolsby is smart and McCain is dumb. In fact, Democrats are dumb and Republicans are --wait- I got that wrong. Republicans are dumb and Democrats are smart. Man! That was close.

You know I always heard the U of Chicago had a good reputation. But now it comes out that Goolsby AND the Obama terrorist buddy teach there, you have to wonder just what the hell kind of mess is that place.

"Celebrity?"....some narky dimwit from Chicago named Goolsby?....his routine would be funny if it were not completely true. However we can certainly credit Obama with being consistent in appointing unqualified, mediocre hacks with no dignity or reserve.

"Celebrity?"....some narky dimwit from Chicago named Goolsby?....his routine would be funny if it were not completely true. However we can certainly credit Obama with being consistent in appointing unqualified, mediocre hacks with no dignity or reserve.

It's easy and fun to shoot off one's mouth when you stand behind the Secret Service and DC police. Why doesn't Mr Big Mouth ***** Boy "take off his badge" for a moment and say this $4it again, to our faces????

Austan Goolsbee is a nut case. If Sarah Palin is everything the left calls her, why are they so afraid of her. You never hear them bad mouth the other Presidential hopefuls. Another thing, I don't believe anything that comes out of this White House bunch.